A New Westminster man has been charged after allegedly attacking and biting a group of women on the SkyTrain last summer.
James Dumouchel, who turns 32 this year, is accused of three counts of assault in connection with the Aug. 17, 2022, incident in Vancouver.
Metro Vancouver Transit Police said three young women boarded the SkyTrain at Main Street-Science World Station just after midnight – when a stranger sitting across from them started taking pictures of them with his mobile phone.
When one of the women confronted the man and asked him to stop recording them, police said the suspect punched her in the face before putting a second woman in a headlock and kicking her.
When the third woman tried to free her friend, the man allegedly bit her on the hand causing injuries to the nailbed on her thumb, police said.
A bystander who intervened in the altercation was also allegedly bitten on the arm, according to police, while another passenger pressed the security alarm on the train.
The suspect got off at Joyce Station and despite efforts by passengers to hold him, police said he broke free and fled before officers located and arrested him nearby.
Dumouchel, who has no criminal history in B.C., was released from custody on the condition of not having contact with his alleged victims.
He is scheduled to appear in Vancouver Provincial Court later this month.
— With files from Global BC’s Simon Little